Experiments for Development of Climate Smart Agriculture (SMARTEX)

This is a NORAD-funded collaborative project between the School of Economics and Business at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in Ås, Norway, and the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) in Malawi, under the NORHED II programme (2021–2025). The project, “Experiments for Development of Climate Smart Agriculture” (SMARTEX), is a research and capacity-building programme that builds on a long-standing collaboration between the institutions, including earlier cooperation under NORHED I and the project Climate-Smart Natural Resource Management and Policy (CLISNARP). The collaboration has lasted for about 20 years. LUANAR has established its own PhD programme in Economics and needs further capacity strengthening to develop and run this programme. NMBU contributes courses and capacity building in behavioural and experimental economics, climate economics, and land tenure, property markets, and land governance policy, with a particular emphasis on experimental methods for studying and developing climate-smart solutions for the sustainable intensification of agriculture in Malawi. The data collection is based on experiments and surveys from different geographical areas of Malawi to study the effects of climate shocks, climate adaptation, and policy instruments. An important aim has also been to develop experimental methods suitable for field experiments with people who have limited education and limited mathematical skills. Malawi is exposed to both floods and droughts, while also being a priority area for agricultural intensification through improved water management and irrigation. The current study includes around 910 irrigation farmers, and the data combine detailed questionnaires with social and economic experiments to analyse behaviour, adaptation, and the effects of climate shocks experienced over the last three years.